Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Shoppin' and Eatin' in SF (Lots of Snaps)

Gentle Friends thanks again for all your kind comments for yesterdays post - it does brighten my day immensely to read them!!
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Over my very long weekend I did have some plans and ideas and things I wanted to try and accomplish.  Two of the things I got a wild hair about were shoes and tea.  I wear (almost) exclusively Converse All Star shoes or Chucks.  I like them, they fit well and are classic sneakers - IMHO.  I also prefer loose tea to bagged tea, I like the control with loose tea when making a pot of tea and I like to see the leaves I am steeping - The brand I really like is called KUSMI, and it comes from France, but originated in Imperial Russia.  Now, I often do quick searches for both these things on the Internet, I look at the Converse web site to see what sales they have and then branch out to other distributors and other sales.  And, the tea, I have been ordering from a tea company in Boston, but often look to see if I can get elsewhere and closer.  Well, last week before the weekend I did some searching and found both of these things here, in SF.  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  I had never seen a Converse store.... and did not know one had opened here in the city. ( I found out it just opened up in July)  I also had never found Kusmi tea here locally, but now found it being sold downtown at Bloomingdale's.  So, with this information in hand I used last Friday to venture to were I never go, Downtown SF.  I never go as it is too crowded with out of towners and too much traffic, too many of the streets are torn up and impassable and just too much.  Living out in Noe Valley it doesn't feel like a city, but when you are downtown you can't help but feel how much city there actually is....

I also thought while I was all the way down at Union Square why not stop in at......

... Britex, I hadn't been in a while and its always fun to stop in a pick up some trim....

... this directory is in the elevator.....

... this is only a small part of the trim wall....

.. and there are racks of ribbons.... these are two sided and jammed full of ribbon...

... a small section of the wall of buttons....  and every floor is like this -  full of stuff... bolts of fabric and more things than you can look at in one day.
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Then it was a quick walk across Union Square and down to Market Street to the.......

... Converse store....

... every wall was covered in shoes and Converse stuff.....

... I liked these camouflage shoes, I already have a pair, but they are really old and need replacing....

... I thought these were a super idea, they had 4 styles with various SF things on them, and if I was a total tourista I would not have hesitated to pick up a pair..... I may just go back and get some.....
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Then it was another quick walk across the street to the big and beautiful Westfeild Centre where Bloomingdale's is located  (basically a big fancy schamancy mall)...

.....  and downstairs I found this .....

...  the whole Kusmi line of teas...  I picked up a tin of :"Anastasia" - a citrus/orange tea and a tin of "Prince Vladimir" a citrus/vanilla/spice tea - these are two really delicious teas!!
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On Saturday after our usually running around thrifting - we stopped off at a new (to us at least) hamburger place called "Super Duper Burgers."

.... here's the menu...

and over the place where you place you order is this great sign....

....  here is our tray......

.....  we shared the fries - and here's a close up of my burger...

... I loved that although they typically cook the burgers to medium they will cook to order if asked... and you know me I asked for rare, like I always say, "if it moo's ain't rare enough!!"  They have a "secret sauce" that is a kind of spicy aioli that goes on all the burgers that is tasty!!  In addition to the great burgers they also .....

.... make their own pickles, you get these at the condiment counter, where the ketchup, mustard and napkins are.  These are spicy, dill and really crunchy pickles.
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That's about it for today sports fans.  Thanks for stopping by do stop again!!

Take care,
edgar

28 comments:

  1. I really enjoy the posts that involve taking us along to see the sites of SF. This one was great. I wish I could spend a day at the fabric shop; that was amazing! I'd probably be so overwhelmed the first time that I'd have to go back a 2nd time just to really see specific trims/buttons/etc. Glad you had an enjoyable long weekend!

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  2. Edgar, go back and get a pair of SF sneakers.....tourist or not they look fun...treat yourself we all deserve some silly fun...and anyway they are useful.

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  3. Oh Edgar, you just have to get the Chucks with the Painted Ladies! So SF!

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  4. Oh, Edgar, you've made me hungry and thirsty! Plus now I need (want?) new shoes. Funny what a good blog post can cause!

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  5. I'm excited about that tea! I'll have to be on the lookout for it when John & I visit there again : ) You are right ... loose tea is the best. The burger & fries look great!

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  6. My daughter is relocating to San Francisco and I am determined to spend an afternoon over the weekend browsing through all your back posts about places to see, eat and shop and compile a list for her. She is a vegetarian and I know the Farmer's Markets in SF will be a sort of heaven for her.

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  7. It looks like a successful day of shopping and eating.

    I would have been in heaven in that fabric store! Wow!

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  8. It looks like a delightful weekend! I don't think I would have made it out of the fabric store - that notion wall is amazing!

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  9. Ok, this was a fun fun post! I love that Britex store -- wow! And the Converse store had such a variety! Yay for Bloomies carrying your tea of choice too. And the burgers -- yum!!!

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  10. Fun weekend for sure. It sounds lovely to just walk and visit the different stores and all. We love our little quaint downtown New Bern here. Some pretty unique shops and all.

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  11. what a fun post!!
    I love me some pickles and hamburgers and I must say I want to dive into yours! LOL!

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  12. Wow, I think I could just get lost in Britex Fabric store. Looks like a fun trip into the city.

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  13. What a fab, fun post! My youngest would love those camo shoes!!

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  14. Oh my, just look at the fabrics store...heaven!

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  15. What fun pics! You have a wonderful eye for making the ordinary look like works of art. :). Have to admit, I'm salivating over that round of teas....oh my! Tea porn!!! Love it!!!! :)

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  16. How lucky you are to have all these choices! I'm not a city girl at all, but you have got to love the choices at the fabric store. Wow, the trims and ribbons choices are overwhelming.

    Same goes for the Converse store. You should get those SF Chucks. They are just too cute.

    Your food looks yummy also!

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  17. WOW! I would love to be able to shop around in Britex! Lucky you to have a store like that within easy reach. Nothing like that around here - that I know of. I am a fan of Chucks as well! Glad you found a local supply!

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  18. I could live in that Britex Fabric store! LOL

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  19. Thanks for the shopping trip. The fabric/trim reminds me of NYC.

    Although I have heard of converse I have never seen ones with pictures on them. I would by "styling" at the gym in those!

    Your lunch looks delicious.

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  20. What a great post Edgar, SF is on my must visit list :)

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  21. That Britex store!!!! What gorgeous trims and that wall of buttons!!! I would go crazy! I'm sure you had a great time there! Glad to know about it!

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  22. I wish we had fabric shops like that here, that looks amazing. The Converse shop is pretty cool too, the girls and I love our Converse.
    If you tell me there is a huge Hot Topic where they can get all the GoLo stuff they like I might just have to hop on a plane ;D

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  23. Thanks for taking me along. I love adventure posts like this. I need to put SF on my list.

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  24. I am totally with you, Edgar, on the loose tea. We had a tea shop open up here last summer and I will not go back to back tea ever. My husband likes PG Tips from England and the only place to get it loose is the British Emporium (an import store) in Grapevine, so we went there this weekend.

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  25. Oh WOWZA! What a super shopping trip! I would have loved all these stops, especially the tea. ;-)

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  26. Thanks for taking us on a tour of the city. One of these days I've got to get out there. I love that fabric store. I imagine that could be a whole days visit in itself.

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  27. Wow, just look at the rows and rows of trimmings!! Wish we could get even half of that here. Thanks for giving me a glimpse of that.

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